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International charities have issued a stark warning aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Ethiopia. The North African country has been hit aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder its worst drought aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder 50 years. It is widely expected that emergency food aid aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder 10 million Ethiopians will run aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder unless more funds can be found. John Graham, the head aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder the charity Save the Children aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder Ethiopia, said: "The international community has just three weeks to provide $245 million aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder emergency food aid to help prevent a potentially catastrophic escalation aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder severe malnutrition cases." He added that: "If these emergency funds do not arrive aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder time, there is no question that there will be a critical fracture aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder the food aid supply pipeline."

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country. It is no stranger aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder natural disasters of this kind. Famine killed aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder one million Ethiopians aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder 1984. The latest drought was brought aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has caused drought and flooding across much of Africa. Ethiopia is one aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder the countries hardest hit. Charities say that aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder 400,000 Ethiopian children aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder the age of five will suffer aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder severe malnutrition this year. In addition, 1.7 million under-fives, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers will need treatment aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder malnutrition. Mr Graham warned that, "the window aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder action is rapidly closing" as it can take four months to buy food aid and transport it aboutbyforfrominintoofonoutovertounder the landlocked country.